Lara Croft's Angel of Darknessupdated
by MissBarbossa
Summary: When cousin Christie comes to stay, Lara's patience is tested big time! But does she realise that she may need Christie more than she thinks? Based on movie ANGELINA-J, CHRIS BARRIE, NOAH TAYLOR . Contains elements of various genres! please read review!
1. The Croft Mansion

The Croft Mansion

The Croft Mansion

'I do wish that Lady Croft would dress for dinner.' Sighed Hillary, as he shook his in disapproval. He had previously expressed his concern to Lara about her table manners. 'Bryce, have you set the table?'

'I sure have. Well, Marilyn has.' Replied Bryce; casting a proud look over to the twelve seated table in the aristocratic dining room.

'Who's Marilyn?' questioned Hillary.

Bryce strode over to the table and pointed out a six foot robot. Its metallic face was decorated with light touch make-up.

'Bryce, it's wearing make-up. Can I ask one simple question? Why?'

Bryce didn't't reply; he simply patted Marilyn's silver arm and smiled.

The two men looked up towards the giant staircase as Lara descended. Her dark, usually plaited hair was flowing down to her waist and her eyes wear slightly outlined in a dark smoky colour. She wore a vintage Chanel dress; the pure white garment clung tightly to her figure.

'Wow.' gasped Bryce. 'Can I show you to your seat?'

'Yes, if you wouldn't mind doing so.' Replied Lara; her husky voice lingering momentarily in the hallway.

As Lara entered the dining room, she happened to glance over to the shining robot. She slowly walked over to the statue-still Marilyn. With her index and middle finger she lightly brushed the robot's welded lips.

'What are you looking so nervous for?' whispered Hillary.

'It's her lipstick…Marilyn's wearing Lara's lipstick.' Bryce said through tightly gritted teeth.

Lara examined her fingers. 'Christine Dior. Soft pink…it really doesn't suit her skin tone.'

Bryce exhaled loudly in relief.

'I'd recommend a darker colour for her silver face Bryce.' She smiled.

Hillary laughed and began to pour the dark red wine into Lara's well-sculpted glass.

The next morning brought cold, harsh winds that rattled the archaic window panes. Lara was up early fixing the brakes on her fierce motorbike. She heard a loud bang, followed by an echoing rumble. 'For heaven's sake; it's six 'o' clock in the morning!'

'Oops! Sorry Lara!' shouted Bryce.

Lara rolled her eyes and continued to dirty her white T-Shirt with jet black oil.

'Lara! Lara, come quick! Marilyn's gone mad!' exclaimed a hysterical Bryce.

Lara jumped up from her bike and ran towards the commotion. She suddenly came face to face with the angry robot. It's sharp arms where flailing around and it's head was spinning 360 degrees on it's angular shoulders.

'I tried to disable her Lara. She just keeps disobeying me!'

'What's wrong with technology these days?' Lara said under her breath.

She drew out two pistols from their holsters and began to fire shots at Marilyn's head. It was no good. The hard metal refracted the speeding bullet and hit Bryce in his right foot.

'SH-' began Bryce.

'-Shut down!' barked Lara. Suddenly Marilyn stopped still; her head lolled to one side and her arms rested in a downwards position.

'Damn Bryce, be careful about what you decide to make in the future please. I have far too many enemies to be making another one.' Lara said calmly. 'Do me a favour and clean up this mess...by yourself.'

Bryce winced as he looked down at his foot. The bullet had skimmed his toes and simply grazed them. He held his foot in a comical position and began to blow pathetically at his red toes. 'Thanks Marilyn!' he shouted, furiously kicking the stationary robot in the 'shin' with his unhurt foot.

'Hillary, i'm going for a ride. If any mail comes for me, rip it up.' Lara instructed the half asleep butler. 'Oh, and tell the mail man not to bother bringing any junk. There's only so much the hounds can rip up.'

'I don't see what's wrong with the shredder.' Hillary said under his breath. 'Yes Lady Croft.'


	2. American Life

American Life

American Life

'Wow! Mom... mom! Too much!'

'Oh sweetie, you can never have too much'

A young teenage girl, around 17 argued with her Mum about how many vegetables were put on her plate. Her Mum, a tall beautiful blonde choreographer from California sighed. 'They're good for you! I used to eat loads when i was your age. And have i come to any harm? No. Now eat them.'

Christie frowned. 'Okay, okay!'

She began to shovel down the Broccoli and Cauliflower at an incredible speed. She moved onto her Steak and cleaned her plate in no time. 'Finished. Thanks Mom, it was great. Now i'm going out with Jenna.'

Christie's Mum smiled. 'Okay honey, but don't be home too late.'

Christie ran out of the door and jumped into her pink car. She turned the ignition key and turned on her stereo. The car began to shake as the sound of Billy Talent blasted out of the windows. The wheels screeched painfully as she sped off, leaving tyre marks on the brilliant white drive.

Both her and Jenna were into rock music, Christie had blonde and pink dreadlocks and her eyes boldly defined with jet black eyeliner. Her thin body allowed her baggy jeans to hang off her even with the aid of a studded belt and her shoes were scuffed and extremely colourful in contrast to her style.

'Right, now i've heard that she lives in England.' Christie announced to Jenna, who was playing on her Nintendo. 'And...' She stopped. 'Is that Nintendogs?'

Jenna jumped. She quickly shut the lid of her Nintendo. 'No! No, it's err...it's err...Silent Hill. Hey! Shouldn't you be concentrating on the road?' she exclaimed in defense.

'Well in case you haven't noticed we've stopped and we're going to find out about this cousin of mine!' Christie laughed.

Jenna stepped out of the car, her sheer black hair blowing in the slight breeze. It was summer and temperatures soared above 30 degrees C, so the whole of Sausalito was glad to feel the cooling breeze.

'Right, we'll go to the library and do a search on her.' said Christie, ushering Jenna towards the huge oak doors which lead to the ocean of information inside.

They both logged onto a computer and began a search. Christie was getting frustrated. 'Why isn't anyone coming up? I'm sure Mom said her name was Lorna.'

'It's Lara! Doofus!' giggled Jenna who had her leather boots resting on the desk. 'Lara Croft.'

'Lara...Croft.' Christie murmured as she typed in the name. 'Okay, twenty results. Let's just hope that this Lara has a profile with these guys.'

'Everyone has a profile with these guys Christie, it's illegal if you don't.' said Jenna lazily removing her boots from the desk at the Librarian's command. 'Question is, can we access it?'

Christie began scrolling the profiles of the twenty Lara Crofts in England. 'C'mon...you've to to be here somewhere...Ah!'

'Found her?'

'I sure have. One Lara Croft. Lives in Sussex, England.' Christie read aloud. 'Oh my God! It says here that she's an heiress...to a multi million pound forture. Her father, Lord Croft died mysteriously and she inherited his millions!'

Jenna looked closely at the screen. 'Mysteriously, yeah right.'

'Excuse me, that's my distant cousin you're talking about.' sniggered Christie. 'Right let's get down some details.'


	3. Memorable mission

Memorable Mission

Memorable Mission

It had become dark.

'Guns?' said Hillary with a clip board and pen ready in his smooth hands.

'Check' replied Lara, who made it obvious that she wasn't actually checking.

'Bullet Proof Vest?'

Lara sighed. 'Check.'

'Ammunition?'

'Check. For goodness sake Hillary, i have everything that i need.'

Hillary lifted his head high. 'Yes, Lady Croft, but are you sure?'

'Yes, as sure as i'll ever be.' said Lara raising one eyebrow. 'Now, i'll see you in two weeks. Oh and make sure Bryce doesn't ruin the house. I'll do that when i get home.'

Hillary smiled and turned on his heel. 'Yes Lady Croft.'

Lara mounted her newly fixed motorbike and rode off through the Croft Estate gates, which theatrically opened by themselves as if by magic. She was speeding down the leafy lanes, leaving dirty trails behind her as she splashed through filthy puddles. She arrived shortly at her destination. Carefully she chained her bike up to a post next to the building. She confidently strode into the tall gloomy house and drew her gun from the holster on her leather belt. A fire was roaring in the living room and its light created an eerie glow which reflected off the skull shaped buckle on her belt. She walked through the dimly lit room and into the stone floored kitchen. She peered out of the window to see a dark figure looming in the overgrown wilderness. Lara made no indication of fear and simply opened the back door and shot a single golden bullet into the starry night's sky. The figure shifted to behind a tree. Lara aimed the gun in the direction of the silhouette and proceeded with caution. The only thing that allowed her to see was the flickering light from the fire in the front room. She squinted and like a coiled Snake, she darted forwards. Before the shadow had chance to realise, she'd already arrived behind the tree.

'Lara?!' said a squeaky, terrified voice. 'W-what are you doing here at this time?'

'I'm afraid it's business and not pleasure Robert. I hear you know where the last key is.' replied Lara in a interrogative tone.

'Key? What key? There are many keys Lara, maybe you could describe this one. Is it dark or light? Skeleton or normal?' Robert's voice was still quivering.

'Don't be smart with me. You know it won't get you anywhere. Where is it?'

Robert let out a childish giggle. A nervous giggle.

'Tell me!' Lara instructed violently. 'Tell me or I'll have to make Yasmine a widow. And you wouldn't want that, would you?'

'Lara i swear to you that i don't have any clue as to where the key is. All i know is that it's buried deep in a snow cave in Iceland. Look, it's dangerous and i don't expect that anyone who dares enter would survive. Sometimes it gets to 30 below and you wouldn't catch me working in them climates.'

'So you did have a clue, Robert?' smiled Lara as she patted him on the back. 'Are you going to help me on this one, or am i supposed to do it alone?'

Robert bit his chapped lip. 'I'm sorry Lara, i can't just leave. Besides, i've had no training.'

Lara shrugged her shoulders. She began to walk down the garden, but she stopped. 'Robert, i'm going back to meet the boys for two weeks. We can train you. 30 below really isn't as bad as it seems. Honest.'

'Lara! Count me in!'

Lara grinned broadly. 'Let's go then, partner.'


	4. New Beginnings

New beginnings

New beginnings

'Would you like something to suck on Miss?' A soft voice whispered very close into Christie's ear.

Christie's eyes were widened in shock. She spun her head to become face to face with a platinum blonde stewardess with extremely long eyelashes. Probably fake.

'Surely they're not recommended! I mean they could drop right into someone's food!' Christie said in a hurry. She realised what she had said. 'Sorry, I mean no thank you.'

The Air hostess simply smiled and moved onto the next unsuspecting passenger. Christie watched her as she practically hurled her cleavage into a businessman's fat, hairy face.

The seatbelt sign flashed above everyone's heads to indicate that they were about to land. Christie buckled it tightly around her waist and pulled her seat upright. A stereotypically snobby English woman was sat next to her, sucking on a sweet.

Christie raised her eyebrows. 'I'm sure their noses are naturally stuck up.' She whispered to herself.

The plane landed with ease and very little turbulence. Christie was the first to disembark, along with the 'snotty woman'.

After a long wait for a taxi and an even longer journey to Lara's mansion, Christie arrived.

She cleared her throat and strode confidently up to the huge doors. Her breathing became heavy and her legs trembled slightly. It was official. She was nervous.

'Quit shaking! Stupid legs!' Christie hissed.

She knocked loudly on the doors and waited patiently. A door swung open silently. There stood a man in a tailored suit, he waited until Christie spoke. He clearly had manners.

'Hey dude. I'm Lara's cou-.' She was cut off. Not by the correctly postured gentleman in front of her, but by her own nerves. She spluttered and cleared her throat for a second time. 'Hello, sir. I'm Lara…Lady Lara Croft's cousin.' She took a big breath and began again. 'I kinda…kind of looked her up.'

'Well young lady, I'm Hillary. I'm Lara's Butler, personal assistant and friend.' He held out his gloved hand and shook Christie's with an air of sheer politeness.

'Great!' Christie smiled. 'Can i…' She pointed in towards the house.

'Of course.' Hillary said standing aside to let her walk in. 'I shall go and alert her of your presence.'

Christie sat down on a deep red leather sofa. Her eyes scanned the room. It was just how she imagined it, beautifully decorated with class and sophistication.

Her eyes were drawn to a glass ornament on the shiny table in front of her. The light refracted from its sharp corners. 'Wow.'

Christie stood to pick it up. She held it up in the air to watch it glisten.

'You must be Christie.'

Christie jumped, releasing the figurine from her hands. It smashed into a thousand pieces on the floor. Her eyes dropped to the floor and so did she. She began picking up the pieces with her bare hands.

'Leave it. It's fine.' It was Lara. Lara Croft.

'I really am so sorry!' Christie said going a redder colour than the sofa. 'I'll clear it.'

Lara looked at Christie with sympathy and smiled. 'Honestly, don't worry. It was worthless. It looked dearer than what it was.'

Christie exhaled loudly. 'Thanks.'


	5. In Training

In Training

In Training

After three days of discovering new passageways and hideaways, Christie decided that she was ready to be taught some of Lara's famous tricks and skills.

Lara took hold of her shotgun, loaded it and took aim at a nearby target. With excellent precision it pierced the centre of the wooden bull's-eye.

'Right, so you hold it here. And you pull this here...' Christie pulled the trigger, sending a hurtling bullet straight through Bryce's cabin window. 'Oh shit!'

'There's a first time for everything. Now, to begin with, close one eye and look down the barrel of the gun. Take your time. And once you're happy with the-.'

Christie had fired another shot. 'Sorry, that wasn't intentional.'

Lara closed her eyes and shook her head. 'Okay, once you're happy with the angle and the aim…pull the trigger.'

Christie held the gun up so that she could see accurately. She felt Lara's arm around her waist as she helped her take aim. 'Okay and pull.'

Lara never flinched as the gun released its ammo, instead she stood stock still and observed the direction of the bullet. 'Spot on!'

Christie leapt into the air and attempted a high five with Lara. She quickly put it down once she realised Lara wasn't going to return it. As Lara began to walk off Christie shouted after her. 'Don't leave me hangin'!'

Back in mansion, in the gigantic gym Lara had more tasks for Christie to complete.

'You are joking, right?' Christie said looking vertically at a wall with bars and other various instruments of what would seem like torture sticking out of it. 'That is too high for me man!'

'Naturally I don't expect you to do on your first go, but practise makes perfect.'

'No safety equipment? In case I fall?' Christie questioned as Lara nodded at her to begin to climb.

'Yes, the floor.' Lara said bluntly. 'Go on, I'm right behind you.'

Christie placed one foot on a small ledge and tried to haul herself up. Her foot slipped and banged her chin on the rugged edges. 'Oh FUCK!' She clenched her teeth and cursed a little more before trying again. She placed her foot back onto the ledge and felt Lara push her from behind. She quickly grabbed onto the second ledge and clung tightly to the grooves in the wall. She turned her head to see Hillary standing bolt upright in the doorway holding his iconic silver tray in one hand. Placed on it was a first aid kit. Christie closed her eyes and pulled herself up onto another ledge. This one was big enough for her to sit on, however, not for long. Lara began to climb after her at an incredible speed. This startled Christie into moving again. She jumped from one ledge to another to make way for Lara, who was making haste.

'God almighty she's fast!' Christie exclaimed as Lara vaulted over towards her. The teen's exact instinct was to either move out of her way or protect herself with her arms.

'Whoa!' Lara gasped as Christie extended her arms to prevent being knocked off. Lara slipped and was hanging onto the ledge by one hand. Her grip was loosening until each finger began to release. She began to fall backwards. Hillary darted towards her, but wasn't quick enough. She very nearly went through the floor. She lay there conscious, but silent.

'Oh God! Oh God!' Christie shouted. 'Lara?'

Lara lifted herself up slowly and coughed. 'Hillary, I think we need a safety net.'


	6. Family Feuds

The good news

Family Feuds 

The day after the training fiasco Lara and Christie sat and ate at the giant dining table. Both Bryce and Hillary could sense tension between the two females. They sat, waiting to see who would throw the first glass of wine.

'Could you pass the Broccoli please, Bryce?' Lara said keeping her two piercing eyes on Christie, who was becoming increasingly nervous. 'I would get it myself only I can barely move.'

Christie guiltily looked down and bit her lip. 'Sorry Lara. Honestly, it was so stupid of me. But in my defence, I didn't know you were going to pull that move.'

Silence fell upon the atmospheric room. Bryce coughed slightly and shot a look towards Hillary, who was scooping Carrots onto his plate. He raised his eyebrows in return.

'Could you pass me the gravy please, Hillary?' Christie said avoiding Lara's constant glare. 'Well Lara, perhaps I should just leave.'

Lara raised a single eyebrow and shrugged her shoulders. 'Okay. Whatever you feel is best. I'm not saying either way.'

Christie glowered. It was clear that she wanted Lara to beg for her presence. She placed her knife and work down in the correct position (Hillary had been teaching her table manners) and stood. 'Excuse me.'

Bryce's eyes followed the teenager out of the room before opening his mouth to speak.

'Hush Bryce. Your opinion at this point is invalid.' Lara interrupted in a harsh and sharp tone. 'I'll go and see if she needs help packing.'

Lara began to leave the room when Bryce stood up. 'Lara! Why do you always snap at me? Why not Hillary? Or even Christie?'

She seemed taken aback by this sudden outburst. She walked over to him and stood extremely close to him. She exhaled out of her nose very loudly and gazed into his eyes. He did not look away.

'Lara, Christie did not hurt you on purpose. You're fine, you can move, you can breathe and you're not dead so in your own words 'get on with it'! Now go and sort it out with her and stop acting like this. You never used to be like this, so stop being such a bully!'

Lara stepped back and frowned. 'She started it by pushing me off that ledge! I could have been seriously hurt!'

Bryce rolled his eyes. 'Yeah, but you weren't. Lara, go and talk to her.'

Lara sighed. 'Not promising anything, mind.'

Bryce smiled at the fact that Lara had finally decided to make the move.

Christie sat in her bedroom looking at her watch. She hummed to herself and bobbed her head rhythmically to the tune.

'Christie?'

Christie stopped immediately and pointed violently at Lara. 'HA! I knew it! I knew you'd come to me eventually, only a matter of time. What was it, guilt?'

Lara stood and rolled her eyes. 'I knew it was a bad idea.' She muttered under her breath.

'Not to worry Lara, I forgive you.' Christie stood and patted Lara on her shoulder whilst heading out of the room. 'I'm taking a shower, won't be long!'

Lara was left stunned as she watched her cheeky cousin leave the room. Her frown soon turned into grin. She ran across the lengthy landing and slid down the banister.

'Lara?' Hillary was nearly knocked off his feet as she sped past towards the kitchen.

She skidded into one of the many cabinets on the floor and immediately halted. She smiled broadly as she reached in towards a large rusting tap.

'How about we turn up the heat?' She giggled to herself, twisted the tap until it revealed a red band. She sat on the marble floor and waited.

'HOLY SHIT!' Christie exclaimed as she jumped out of the shower. She slipped and fell onto the floor. 'What the hell's going on?'

Lara was laughing so hard that tears streamed down her face. She stood up and jogged up the stairs and into the bathroom. Stood, hidden in all the steam was Christie. Her towel was wrapped tightly round her and her skin was bright red.

'No need to blush Christie, we're all girls here.'

'Funny! Lara.' Christie snapped walking up to the Tomb Raider. 'I suppose that was revenge? Well if it's a war you want, it's a war you'll get!'

Lara raised one eyebrow. 'Do you think it's wise?'

Christie exhaled loudly and stormed out leaving Lara sniggering in the lingering mist.


	7. The adventure begins

The Adventure Begins

The Adventure Begins

Hillary was standing in the kitchen holding out his polished silver tray. Lara walked straight past, throwing a sexy wink his way. He smiled before clearing his throat and resuming his professionalism. Christie bolted down the stairs. She was wearing her usual baggy denim jeans and black vest. Her hair was blowing behind her. She continued to run until Hillary stopped her.

'What?' She questioned. 'Lara said I have to do more obstacle practise…outside.'

Hillary pointed at her earrings. 'They have to be removed first. And that thing in your mouth. Oh and tie your hair back.'

Christie nodded. 'Okay, but I've only just had this pierced and if I take it out it'll kill man!' She began to tie her dreadlocked hair behind her head. 'C'mon Hilly! You know you can't resist me.'

Hillary smiled broadly. 'Thank you Christie, but those Puppy Dog eyes won't wash with me. It's either take it out or have it ripped out.'

Christie sighed. 'Okay.' She put her fingers in her mouth and began to twist the glistening stud out. She dropped it on his tray along with the other wide varieties of metal that were removed. She patted Hillary on his head and sped off to catch up to Lara.

'Right Christie, I'll time you.' Lara said pulling out a stopwatch from her bag. 'When you get to the end, sound the air horn.'

Christie caught her breath and began to sprint up to the netting which led to the zip line. She threw herself onto it and instantly got tangled up. She tried to release her foot, which was caught in the clinging ropes. She let go with both hands and began to fall backwards. Her head was inches away from the gravelled floor. 'Lara!' She shouted, her arms flailing around. 'Lara, help!'

Lara was stood one arm folded, the other holding the stop watch. 'You know I can make this course in less than ten minutes. You're already at five and you have the zip wire, agility test, under water challenge and grapple hook task all to complete. I'd get a move on if I were you. You don't have time to act stupid when you're tomb raiding you know.'

Christie started to wriggle manically like a fish caught in a net. Her foot was released and she fell onto the floor in a pile. She rolled backwards and stood bolt upright. 'Restart the clock Croft.' She demanded. 'I will do this. I can do this.'

Lara laughed out loud. 'Okay.'

'Right, here we go.' Christie ran at the net for a second time and began to pull herself up. She was gaining speed and rallied to the top. 'See! Ha! I've done it!'

Lara sniggered. 'Well done Chris. Now keep tight hold of the zip wire. It's a long way down.' She shouted as she looked up vertically.

'Yeah, yeah.' Christie said to herself. 'How hard can it be?' She edged her way to the white line at the end of the platform. She looked down and saw that nothing at all underneath her could break her fall. She took a deep breath and placed both hands on the metal bar secured to the twisted wire. She bit her lip and closed her eyes momentarily before swinging forward. For a moment she felt as though she was going to let go. Her heart seemed to stop completely and a knot had formed in her stomach. She hurtled towards the ground at incredible speed. As she hit the hard floor, she was sent rolling sideways until she stopped facing the blue sky. 'Ouch.'

'So, let the war begin.' Lara appeared stood over Christie with a huge grin across her face. She held out her half gloved hand. Christie refused the help and stood up looking towards the blank firing machine guns, which were waiting for their prey. They both glanced at each other with pure competitive fire. They sprinted off together and headed towards the mounted auto-fire guns. They ferociously fired their shells at the two contenders. Christie didn't have the speed that Lara possessed. She was hit several times with harmless shrapnel and was slowed down ever more by the fact that she had to shield her face with her arm.

Lara vaulted over a seven foot wall, before throwing her bag to one side and diving into an under water abyss. She moved swiftly against the water and clearly at ease. She climbed out to see Christie scrambling over the wall, one leg over, the other pathetically attempting to join it. Lara laughed and back flipped towards a towering brick surface, she grabbed a metal hook that was suspended off the wall. She flung it upwards until it hooked onto one of the clips situated at the very top. She pushed her whole body weight forwards and ran sideways towards two blowing flags. She released herself and landed gracefully onto the finishing podium. She had time to walk over to get her bag and reach in for a pair of binoculars. She put them up to her green eyes and watched her cousin struggle to pull herself out of the water. 'Amateur.' She smiled.


	8. Packing for Iceland

Packing for Iceland

Packing for Iceland

Lara was awake bright and early, in fact she was the only one up at all. She took the liberty of making herself a cup of Earl Grey tea using Hillary's state of the art Quick boil system. She sat down on her beautiful sofa and lied across it. She took hold of the newspaper from the previous morning and scanned the front page. Completely uninterested, she threw across onto the table in front of her. She sighed, closed her eyes and sipped her tea.

'I need painkillers.' A weak and tired voice barely spoke out. 'Are they in the top drawer?'

Lara turned her head to see Christie make-up free with ragged hair. She emitted a small giggle before standing up to get her cousin some extra strong aspirin. 'Too much to drink was it?'

Christie coughed. 'You could say that. Bryce offered me some of his 'finest' Malt Whisky and well I got a little tipsy.' She coughed again and rested her head on Lara's shoulder. 'Can we draw a truce? I've accepted that I will never be able to beat you in terms of power, speed and accuracy. You win.' She smiled and looked up at her mentor's sympathetic face.

'Well you forgot intelligence, but yes. I accept your surrender.'

Christie threw back the misty water containing two dissolved tablets. 'Cheers.'

'What are you doing up at 5 am?' Lara enquired. 'Surely recovering from a hangover would require EXTRA hours in bed, not less.'

'I couldn't sleep at all, Lara.'

A dozen letters flooded in through the letterbox and onto the stone cold floor in an untidy heap. Lara picked them up and subconsciously arranged them in her hands to form a neat collection. 'One for Bryce from Sony, two for you and two for me.'

Christie ripped open one of her letters. It was from her mum telling her that their phone had been disconnected should she try and call. Lara carefully opened hers.

'This one's from Iceland. A message from the snow tribe that live deep within the Gelotundra. It appears they've found an artefact that is worth me looking over.'

Christie's face beamed with excitement. 'Can I come?' She waited with baited breath as she watched for Lara's reaction.

'I need everyone for this journey. Go wake Bryce and Hillary.'

After four hours of packing, Christie was ready. She sat on her giant suitcase and waited for Lara.

'Ready?'

Christie looked to the side and saw Lara dressed in a beautiful white knee length coat with extremely tight pants and a white vest. Christie's eyes never left her cousin. She looked amazing. 'Err, yeah I think I'm ready I just gotta, err get my err, what's it called? My…my shoes.'

'Okay.' Lara said looking rightfully puzzled at Christie's amazement. 'We'll be in the helicopter. Hurry, Hillary won't wait long before he locks up.'


	9. Cold Reception?

Cold Reception

Cold Reception?

'A treat for you, Lady Croft.' An elderly, white bearded man said holding out a cup in his hands. 'Tea, it's a rare pleasure here in the Gelotundra. It is said to have healing qualities for both the body and mind.'

Lara gratefully accepted the beautifully crafted cup with a warming smile. She took a sip whilst closing her eyes. She savoured the flavour and looked up at Einar, who was grinning broadly, his pure white teeth shining. 'This is beautiful Einar. Perhaps you should teach Hillary the art of true tea-making.' She said with a flirtatious wink towards her blushing butler.

Einar stood, his age wasn't reflected in his actions; he was as nimble as he would have been when fifty years ago. He reached for what looked like a journal. He opened it with his slender fingers and read silently.

Lara had been told to meet the snow tribe at Einar's cabin within the Gelotundra. It was surprisingly warm despite being surrounded by flawless sheets of ice. His cabin wasn't the only one in the tundra; there were at least another forty. The tribe consisted of the people of Iceland who had witnessed the great explosion that had ruined at least half of their land. They lived close together, keeping each other alert and safe from any further blasts.

'Day fourteen and only slight tremors.' Einar said reading aloud to the English foreigners. 'Two days later we felt that the shaking was more intense. We believe that we're living close to a volcano.'

Lara listened intently to every word spoken. Her complexion seemed to glow with the reflection of the burning embers. 'As far as I know there are no known volcanoes in this part.'

Christie, who was sat quietly, spoke for the first time during their stay in Einar's home. 'Even the dormant ones, Lara?'

Lara nodded. She seemed deep in thought as she lightly bit the tip of her thumb nail. 'No, I have no recollection of a volcano being here. You wanted to show me something, Einar?'

Einar briskly walked to the wooden door and shouted to a near by cabin. His language was unknown to Lara.

'You never know, perhaps it was a volcano that destroyed the east part of the land. It just may be dormant now, or extinct.'

Hillary was staring into space; his mind seemed to be on other matters. 'Extinct volcanoes don't produce tremors.'

Three young warmly wrapped men stepped into the cabin, both looking at Lara. They each carried a corner of a thick metal sheet. They wore extremely thick gloves that protected their hands from the source of heat being generated by the large stone in the middle. They placed the metal carrier carefully onto a woollen coat. The stone burned dimly, but with extreme heat.

'Volcanic rock?' Einar questioned.

Lara looked puzzled. She hovered her bare hand over the stone and found that her skin had reddened in a matter of two seconds. She pulled it back and reached into her bag. She took out a thermometer. She placed the two metal pins into the rock and held the gauge in both hands and watched the digital numbers rise.

'That thing reached a thousand degrees and…'

The metal prongs melted into the rock.

'Surely at them temperatures the rock would liquidise. I've learned about this stuff in school.' Christie said staring at the glowering stone. 'That's unbelievable.'

Lara cursed as she threw the gauge out of the door. 'That's useless now.'

'Where did you find this?' Lara asked reaching back into her bag for what looked like a bandage. 'I want to go there, this is unusual.'

She wrapped her hand tightly in the cloth and stood. She looked down at the rock. It was burning brighter than it was before. Everyone gathered around it in awe. It's once dull glow had evolved into a spectacular bright red light that filled the whole cabin with an eerie radiance.

'It's never done that before.' Said Einar, who was standing beside Lara.

There was a sudden bang followed by a single flash of orange light. The whole tundra lit up and began to quickly melt. There were screams coming from outside of Einar's cabin as people came flocking from their cabins and out of the tundra. Lara watched as a man fell to the floor in agony as water poured on top of him. She ran out, covering her head with her hood. A small boy was trapped in his cabin afraid to come out. Lara dashed towards him against the stampede of terrified people. She ducked and dived as pieces of ice dropped from the roof of the tundra. The child ran at Lara who was half way from Einar's cabin and the boys. Lara shouted as the youngster fell and cried hysterically. She could see that the water falling was scalding from the immense heat and the child was being burned alive. She ripped her coat from her back and flung herself through the air so that she landed next to the child and covered him up. She, herself was intense pain as the water cooked her flesh. She picked him up and began to run towards Einar's cabin, but she was finding it hard.

'Lara!' Exclaimed Hillary, who pulled his coat over head and ran to meet Lara before she was burned to death.

Christie grabbed two shotguns that were stood up against the wall. She grabbed a handful of bullets that were lying on the table and loaded it up. She was fiddling with it for at least twenty seconds before snapping it together and running to the door. She took aim and fired two bullets at a thirty foot rock that was just about hanging onto the roof. One ricocheted off the wall and hit a burning cabin. Christie reloaded and aimed again, this time with more accuracy as the bullets hit the very top of the rock and separated it from the ceiling of the tundra. It came crashing down at speed and blocked them all off from whatever was causing the extreme heat. Instantly they felt cooler, Christie ran out and found Lara lying on the watery ground with many flesh eaten burns. She could see that the child had at least 70 burns on his sinless face. She looked away.

'You did great Christie. I'm proud of you.' Hillary said holding Lara in his arms.

Christie, who had tears dripping off her face didn't smile. 'Do you think he'll be okay? The boy.'

Hillary took one look at the child and shook his head. 'He has severe burns, Lara did her best but being so small, I don't think he could fight the infections that will follow.'

Christie put her hand on the child's head and stroked his hair. 'It's not fair.'

Lara lifted herself up and placed the child on the floor. She lifted her pants leg up and saw that the water had scalded her calf. 'I'll take him to his mother. She'll be wondering where he is.'

Bryce came running into the mouth of the tundra, worry etched on his cut and bruised face. 'Guys, guys! Are you okay?'

Lara embraced him tightly and nodded. 'I'll be fine, it's the child. Take him to his mother.'

Hillary took hold of Lara as she was having extreme difficulty to walk.


	10. Confusion

Confusion

Confusion

Lara sat on her long coat scooping the remains of Einar's 'traditional Eskimo pudding' off her plate. She held a block of ice wrapped up in Christie's sock against her face. She placed it on the other side when she felt her cheek going numb.

'That has never happened before, Lara.' Einar said, he too devouring the remains of his pudding. 'I don't understand how the water had heated up; surely it would have evap- evaporate?'

'Evaporated, yeah.' Christie said looking at the old Eskimo. 'That's what confused me. I mean, sure the ice would melt, but surely it would evaporate because the heat was so intense. At points I could feel my skin sizzling!'

Lara looked sympathetically at Einar. 'I'm so sorry I couldn't do anything about your homes. I presume the rock is still in the tundra?'

'Ahh! Now that's where you are wrong Miss Croft.' Christie said in a mocking tone, clearly imitating the British. 'I got it here.'

She unwrapped a large cloth that was hiding the smouldering stone inside it. 'It had cooled down a lot.' She picked it up still within the cloth and placed it down in front of them. 'It's still warm, that's why I had to keep it in here. Plus I didn't want the ice to put it out completely.'

Lara poked it violently with a metal rod and it hissed angrily like a Snake being waken. 'Einar, we're here for another four days, we shall do our best to try and find out what's going on.' She looked at her cousin. 'We have that ball next week. A chance for us all to pretend we like the stuck up Aristocratic community.'

Christie laughed as Lara rolled her eyes. 'C'mon, we'll go back into the tundra and Hillary and Bryce can wait here.' Lara said smiling towards the two sleeping men. She gave Einar a hug and they both left.


	11. The Ball updated

The Ball

The Ball

'Whatever you do, Christie, do not swear, make rude gestures, or produce any bodily functions.' Hillary said rolling out a red carpet at the front of the mansion. 'These people are important and I want people to think that Lara only hosts good company.'

Christie laughed. 'Look dude, I am good company! I saved your asses last week.'

Hillary curtly walked over to her. She stood, leaning on the wall chewing bright pink gum. 'Christie, we know you're good company, but they don't. If they saw you acting like this then they'd think that Miss Croft welcomes anyone into her home.'

'Well she invited me in. She didn't know who I was. Ha! Hillary, I got you there.' She threw a wink at Hillary who sighed, smiled and shook his head. 'Go and help your very trustworthy cousin to pick an outfit. She can never expect to wear her riding trousers to meet the Duchess.'

Christie walked into the mansion and strode up the massive staircase, missing a step every time. She ran into Lara's bedroom to see her beating the life out of an innocent punch bag. 'Lara, Hillary said to come and help you.'

Lara stopped and wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead. She took aim out of the open window and spat forcefully. Christie laughed as she knew that Lara was nowhere near as sophisticated as she made out. She could relate to her as the down to earth heroine who has inherited a hell of a lot of money.

'CHRISTIE!' Hillary's voice bellowed out from below the window. 'What did I tell you?'

Both Lara and Christie leant over the window sill and saw Hillary wiping the top of his head with a beaded handkerchief.

'Sorry Hilly that was me.' Lara said trying her hardest not laugh as her butler placed the spit covered tissue in the bin.

The night came fast, it was already seven o clock and guests where arriving by the dozen. The gym had been successfully converted into a giant ballroom and Lara's kitchen was bustling with cooks that had been hired for the day.

Hillary glided through the collection of people, holding two trays harbouring glasses of champagne. He had assistants in the form of Bryce (comically wearing a tuxedo) and Hillary's brother, James, who didn't resemble Hillary at all. He had a blonde ponytail that had been gelled back and slickly positioned. He was taller and slimmer, but had the same air of grace about him as his brother.

Lara waited to introduce herself as the hostess once everyone had arrived and Christie decided to wait with her. They both wore identically shaped dresses that flattered their figures, only Christie's was black and Lara's was white. They both sat in front of a mirror and waited for Bryce's call to tell them that everyone had arrived.

Lara had allowed her hair some freedom as she hadn't tied it up. 'Einar hasn't been in touch.'

Christie ran her fingers through her newly un-matted hair. The absence of her dreadlocks annoyed her. 'Hasn't he? Perhaps he's just waiting until we go back next month. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about.'

Lara looked at her. 'Your hair looks really greasy.'

Christie coughed. 'Excuse me! I had to douse my hair in conditioner to get me dreadlocks out!'

Lara looked at her hair and frowned. 'Well they're out now, go and wash it.'

'Well if it bothers you so much I will!' Christie said thumping Lara on the arm playfully.

An hour passed and still not everyone had arrived. Hillary had made the decision to call Lara despite having three short of the hundred and forty people.

Lara and Christie linked arms and walked down the stairs. They entered the ballroom and stood up on the large platform situated at the front. The classical calm music ceased as Lara stepped up to the microphone. 'Ladies and Gentlemen…' She began addressing the large crowd of well dressed aristocrats. She looked down and saw six young children sat with their arms folded. '…boys and girls...' She continued professionally. 'I am delighted to welcome you all to my humble abode. Please, take full advantage of our 'pleased to serve you' staff and make use of all the facilities. I insist that you all have a wonderfully exciting and enjoyable evening and that you may all leave feeling a little (if not) very merry.' The crowd laughed heartily before falling silent again. 'Before we resume the party, I would like to introduce my younger cousin, Miss Christie Montieno.'

'Thank you!' Christie shouted down the microphone. She grimaced as the sound bounced off the walls before nearly deafening all the guests.

Lara curtly bowed her head and stepped down from the platform.

'You've been practising that old chestnut.' Christie said as they both took it in turns to shake hands and kiss the guests on the cheek.

'You bet.' Lara said winking at Christie and greeting an elderly gentleman with a light kiss.

Christie took it upon herself to mingle in the crowd, greeting everyone with a wave of the hand and a friendly 'Hey' and 'Hi there'. She was tapped rather heavily on the shoulder. She turned around half expecting to see someone waiting to hit her.

'Excuse me Miss, do you think that I resemble a Pineapple?' A broad middle aged woman asked.

Christie was taken aback. She looked her up and down and smiled. Inwardly she laughed hysterically at the sight of a large woman dressed head to toe in yellow, with a bright green scarf weaved into her platinum blonde bun. She looked EXACTLY like a Pineapple. 'God no! Who on earth would say that? You look lovely.' She smiled warmly and nodded.

'Oh dear, why thank you. My husband, the one with the black suit over there said I looked rather like a fruit. I naturally asked which and he said Pineapple.' She pointed jollily at the man stood with Hillary showing him his golden watch.

'Well you don't, you look great.' Christie lied. 'I'm just going for a beer.'

She cursed herself as she walked over to the table of alcohol. There was no beer, just expensive champagne, wine, whisky and other 'posh stuff' as Christie would call it.

Lara walked over to her and linked her arm. 'I see Lady Smith is as colourful as she was last year. Last time I held a party, she came dressed like a kiwi. She seems to like dressing in anything tropical.'

'Just as long as she doesn't come as a tropical dancer…' Christie said shuddering at the thought of Lady Smith thrusting her body into various moves. 'When does this party get started then?'

Lara sighed. 'Sadly this is it. It rarely gets more exciting than this.' She and her cousin looked around only to see geriatric 'toff-nosed' men and women holding their heads high and boasting about their latest fur lined jacket. The few younger, better looking guests were just as bad…they gloated over being able to play piano at the highest grade. Not one of them seemed to lack in talent, yet none of them (coincidently) were able to prove it.

'So, this is all we're getting? Classical music? Man, I have nothing against that stuff, but surely we need to get the show on the road?'

Lara agreed. 'Any ideas?'

Christie's eyes widened. 'Give me ten minutes.'

She rushed off and out of the mansion. It was dark, but Lara's beautiful lamps in the grass illuminated the path towards Bryce's cabin. She reached into her pearl handbag and pulled out a set of keys. 'Not that one, that's Hillary's room, not this, ah…perfect.' She held a small silver key in between her fore and middle finger. She unlocked Bryce's door and stepped inside. The place was dimly lit, partly because Bryce wasn't in there to light it up with is computers and game consoles. She sat down on his leather swivel seat and typed in his password. 'Damn he is so predictable.' She then inserted a blank CD into the computer and selected various songs from his playlist. 'Blink 182, Sandstorm, Madonna, JT…' She smiled as she clicked the 'burn' button. She had selected over fifty songs. 'Fifty of the best songs ever al compacted onto one CD, God I love technology!'

When it had finished, she turned it off and gathered many electrical items from his personal stash. She took a black shiny bin bag and filled it with disco balls, smoke/bubble machines, a dry ice machine and plenty of streamers.

'Lady Smith, you look phenomenal!' Lara said smiling at the large lady, who had come over to harass Lara on her opinion of Pineapples. 'He must be joking with you; you don't look at all like a Pineapple!'

By the time Lara had just about finished her rounds of the people there, Christie and Bryce had teamed together to throw the ultimate party. The lights dimmed and the music stopped suddenly. The guests went quiet, some still muttering. A heavy mist billowed out from both sides of the room and covered the floor. The guests were all gasping and looking down at their feet. Some where kicking their legs like as though to shift some of the smoke. A single bright white light fell upon Christie who was stood on the once respected platform, where Lara had addressed her guests formally.

'People of Croft Manor. I would like to introduce to you now, a party that will end all parties. A party that will undoubtedly blow your well educated minds. A party that is going to…' Two lines of smoke were violently emitted upwards on either side of Christie, giving her an image worthy of the Gods. '…KICK ASS!'

Many colours flashed from the two large disco balls sneakily placed on the ceiling and dry ice was puffed out from the centre of the 'dance floor'. Many people stood, they appeared to be waiting for something.

'They need someone to dance first, they're like robots!' Christie shouted over to Lara, who was laughing.

'I take it you mean me?' She said rolling her eyes playfully. She and Christie stood in the middle of the crowd; they all parted and gave them a perfect circle to perform. Christie looked towards Bryce and nodded her head. The song changed quickly and the sound of MC Hammer filled the room. Both Lara and Christie, all dignity set aside, began to shuffle across the circle in perfect sync. Every move they made was mirrored by each other. They looked as though they had choreographed it previously. Slowly, the crowd began to move, the 'Pineapple Lady', as Christie called her was now dancing gleefully to the music and various other aristocrats were merrily moving.

Lara and Christie stopped as the song ended. The crowd didn't seem to notice as they carried on dancing to the next song as though there was no change.

'Well, I must say you know how to work a crowd.' Lara said smiling broadly. 'They usually just stand in their own little groups in order of importance talking about their recent brush with 'poverty''.

'Yeah well, people like that haven't seen poverty until they've visited some parts of L.A.'

Bryce came running over laughing. 'Lara, I haven't seen you move like since…well I've NEVER seen you move like that!'

Lara smiled and tapped Bryce heavily on the back. 'And you never will again.'


End file.
